Fuge Campers From Texas and Florida Enjoy Mississippi College Visit

June 16, 2014

The experience blended time to worship Jesus Christ, play sports and have fun.

“It was very spiritual, uplifting and encouraging,” said Brandon, 15, a member of Clinton Baptist Church in Clinton, Texas. “It gives you hope.”

His slightly older brother, Jonah Vittitow, 15, was equally on fire about his first experience at a Fuge camp at the Baptist-affiliated university. “I like how we celebrate God’s name.”

The Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tennessee oversees Fuge and other Christian camps based at Mississippi College and numerous schools around the USA each summer.

Mississippi College leaders expect there will be 6,000 campers from 15 states visiting the Christian university in June and July, the largest number in several years. That includes students traveling to MC from churches around the South. Students are also coming from Mississippi schools for basketball, football, cheerleading, volleyball, music and other activities.

Marian Goodloe of Nashville, the Fuge Camp director at MC, gave the first week of activities ending in mid-June an excellent evaluation. Except for one day when heavy rain soaked Central Mississippi, things went quite well at the camp, she said.

Ranging from loud worship services featuring live Christian music to quiet Bible study and fellowship time in the university cafeteria, Alec Perez, 13, gives the week’s experience a thumbs up. “It’s neat,” he said. “I love the campus.”

It took his group from Clinton Baptist Church near Tyler, Texas nearly seven hours to reach Mississippi College.

The journey to the Clinton, Mississippi campus took five hours for a larger group from Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. There were 111 students, from middle school through high school, attending their first Fuge camp at MC. Plenty of parents, church leaders and camp staffers accompanied them around the 320-acre campus, from the gyms and residence halls to the cafeteria.

For Pensacola parents like John Davey, it’s his fourth church youth camp over the years, but his first experience at Mississippi College. “Fuge is great!”

Fuge camp activities continued full blast at Mississippi College Friday evening.

A Christian band performing at Swor Auditorium and speakers encouraged hundreds of teens to “be bold” in their faith. Students also watched International Mission Board videos telling inspirational stories of young volunteers traveling to other countries to build relationships and share the love of Christ.